Prevent Google Chrome auto update

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Google Chrome has rocketed to popularity quickly, thanks to its speed, minimalistic design that allows you to focus on webpages to the maximum, and of course Google’s backing.

Chrome is being developed at a furious pace, going through version numbers very quickly. They introduced silent automatic updates to the browser. This is a welcome feature for most users, as they might typically forget to manually update the browser or provide permission etc.

However, there are cases where automatic upgrade of Chrome may not be welcome – including users with low speed internet connections or limited monthly usage quotas. For such users, here is how to disable automatic updates. Note that turning off auto updates is not recommended at all, do so only if you have no other option.

Turn off Chrome auto updates

Type about:plugins in URL bar/omnibar.
In the list of plugins that come up, disable “Google updater”.

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Alternate ways to turn off auto updates include going to Start > Run (type run in search box) > msconfig, switch to Services tab, then uncheck Google Update Service and hit OK.

Note that turning off automatic updates do not prevent manual updates, so you should do manual updates whenever possible.